Miller, in partnership with Wells Fargo Financial, created the program, which offers business financing to qualified borrowers for purchases of Miller-brand arc welding and plasma cutting equipment and accessories. Since July 2009, the program has helped more than 60 companies gain access to capital.

The 0% financing offer applies to $10,000-minimum purchases of any Miller brand equipment. Two-, three-, four- and five-year terms are also available with rates subject to monthly charges. Application forms are only available through participating Miller distributors.

“The number one advantage of Miller's 0% financing program is that it helped Felling Trailers manage our month-to-month expenses,” says Merle Felling, president & CEO, Felling Trailers Inc., Sauk Centre, Minn. His company traded in the last of its older welders to convert its fleet to newer, more advanced, energy-efficient XMT® 350 multiprocess inverters. Instead of a $47,000 cash outlay, the company will pay approximately $3,900 each month for 12 months.

“Even this economy, you still have to look out 10 years,” Felling says, whose company sales have remained strong. “The added features and energy savings of the new Miller welders were attractive, so we used the zero-percent financing to acquire the equipment now. Also, when we buy equipment, we like to pay for it. With Miller’s zero percent financing, we’ll own the equipment clear 12 months from now.”

The Miller-Wells Fargo Financial program also enables entrepreneurs pursue goals that they might have had to delay or cancel.

For example, Art Olson, president-owner of Farm Island Marine and Repair, Aitkin, Minn., says, “We were looking for ways to keep our [14-person] shop profitable in the wintertime because we are up in the upper Midwest, so we decided we would start building our own aluminum docks” using Miller’s new AlumaFeed™ welding system.

“As you know, it is tough to get money out there anywhere, and we didn’t want to use up our line of credit. If Wells Fargo wouldn’t have had this financing, we may not have gone into this business this year and might have had to put it off for another. So it worked out really, really well. We are in business. We are currently welding and selling aluminum docks…manufacturing our own” instead of buying them from a third-party.

Goof-Proof Process

Credit approval is usually completed within 24 hours, and the charged amount can include tax, freight and installation charges. A company must have been in business for at least two years and have a federal tax I.D. number to qualify. Other restrictions may apply. However, users of the program report that the credit process is customer-friendly.

“It was so simple,” says Olson. “I had to do nothing. I just had to answer a couple of questions and it was all done. The equipment was ordered immediately. It was probably one of the simplest things I’ve done.”

The welding supply distributor who worked with Olson, Brian Henrickson, confirms that the application process, “Can’t get it any easier. It’s very straightforward. Very simplified. It’s goof-proof. I don’t know how else to describe it.”

About Miller

Miller Electric Mfg. Co., headquartered in Appleton, Wis., is a leading worldwide manufacturer of Miller brand arc welding equipment and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE: ITW).